Can closure



Dec; 5, 1944. Qw, GARDES 2,364,206

CAN CLOSURE Filed-$ept. 19, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 DEC. 5,1944. w GARDES 2,364,206

CAN CLOSURE Filed Sept. 19, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Patented Dec. 5, 1944 CAN CLOSURE Alfred W. Gardes, Detroit, Mich., assignor to McCord Radiator & Mfg. 00., Detroit, Mich., a

corporation of Maine Application September 19, 1942, Serial No. 459,021

13 Claims.

The present invention relates to portable containers for liquids and more particularly to a novel and improved type of closures adapted for use on portable containers such as gasoline cans.

It may be explained that in the present day type of modern warfare it is considered impracti cal to attempt to refuel all of the thousands of motorized vehicles in a modern mechanized division by any of the conventional stationary types of gasoline dispensing pumps and that the preferred practice adopted by the United States Army, and almost universally adopted by all the major armies of the World, is to refuel the equipment from relatively small containers, each having a capacity of about five gallons, This system of refueling proposes marked advantages in that it makes it entirely unnecessary to bring large tanks, tank cars, etc., etc., into the front lines where they are obvious and vulnerable targets for enemy bombardment, and substitutes the use of thousands of the relatively smaller containers that may be transported in ordinary motor vehicles and in smaller quantities, so that they are not so obvious as targets for the enemy and also so that they are not equally vulnerable even though struck by enem fire.

It is believed the advantages of the use of small cans as pointed out in paragraphs above are too well known to require any extended description, and it is mentioned in this application only to point out that while such a practice'is regarded as essential and has been universally adopted, it has at the same time given rise to other problems of great importance that must be satisfactorily solved if the maximum efficiency is to be gained from the use of the small containers. Thus, in the use of any containers of this type, it is essential that they be arranged so that they are entirely leak-proof during handling and shipping and so that they may be opened or closed almost instantaneously. In addition, they must be of such a rugged construction that they are capable of withstanding the extremel rough treatment received by military equipment in the field.

The importance of any structure that will com- Because of the simplicity of their construction, screw cap closures have perhaps been more widely used than any other type for these five gallon cans, but the screw cap closures are, however, objectionable because of the length of time required to open and close the same and also because of the tendency when the necessity for rapid opening and closing of the can arises, for the threads to be crossed and consequently jammed or damaged in placing the closure on the The principal object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved cam operated closing device for a can of the type hereinbeiore referred to, in which the objectionable features of the prior art devices will be largely, if not entirely, obviated.

Another object is to provide a closure of the closure to opened position and vice versa a simple manipulation of the cam operating means serves to seat the closure and lock the same securely in position on the can.

Another object is to so construct the pivotal connection of the cam operating means to the closure cap that the bolt which functions to provide the pivotal action is also employed for providing the desired spring pressure to hold the closure in tight sealing engagement with the neck, or spout, of the can.

A further object is to provide a container of the type set forth with a pivotally mounted cap closure and to associate with said closure, cam locking means so arranged that when the latter is actuated to unlock and open the closure, it also is appropriately located to serve as a handle for supporting the can when emptying or pouring out the contents thereof.

I1; is still another object of the present invention to provide a closure with cam operated lock- Fig. l.

ing means which when in closed position will be seated below the outer boundaries of the can and so that the closure operating means will be in a position such that the closure cannot be accidentally unlatched in the normal handling of the can in the shipping or transporting thereof.

The above and other objects of the present invention will appear more fully from the following more detailed description and by reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein Fig. 1 is an enlarged side elevation, partly in section, of a portion of a container having a closure constructed in accordance with the present invention secured thereto, in locked or closed position;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the structure shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a front view of the same structure as seen from the spout, or pouring edge of the can;

Fig, 4 is a view in side elevation, somewhat similar to Fig. 1, but with the cam lever partly unlocked preparatory to swinging the closure cap to opened position;

Fig. 5 is a detail in side elevation of the configuration of the cam locking surfaces, and

Fig. 6 is a view on a smaller scale showing the full can and the manner in which the cam operating lever is used as a handle for holding the closure open and at the same time for supporting the can during the process of emptying or pouring out its contents.

As shown in the drawings the numeral H1 indicates the body porton of a container of the type commonly employed as military field equipment. This closure is in the form of a flat rectangular body having one side of the top thereof inclined at an angle, as indicated at I I, to receive a pouring spout I2. These cans as heretofore constructed are also provided with a plurality of handle grips I3, there being preferably three of these handles across the top of the container.

The pouring spout I2 may be secured to the body In of the container in any suitable manner, the details of the manner in which the spout is connected to the body of the container forming no part of the present invention. As shown,

however, the inclined portion II of the top of the container is provided with a pouring aperture I4 and the metal of the can is formed into a flanged bead which is curved about a projecting annular flange I5 formed on the inner end of the spout portion I2, all as clearly shown in The upper end of the spout I2 is also provided with a lateral flange I6 to provide a wide seating surface against which is adapted to be pressed a gasket H of yielding material. The gasket I1 is preferably held within a closure cap I8 having a downwardly extending flange l9 and a flanged closure suitably secured to the under surface of the closure cap I8. The closure cap I8 also has suitably secured to its outer or top surface a generally T-shaped metallic piece 2I,

the leg of the T extending rearwardly beyond the closure where it is bent around, as indicated at 22 for the reception of a pivot pin 23. The pivot pin 23 also passes through apertures provided in a pair of spaced ears 24 provided in a bracket 25 welded, or otherwise suitably secured, to the spout I2. The bracket 25 is also provided with a central rearwardly extending lug 26 which has suitably secured therein a threaded nut member 21 having a screw threaded hole 28 which serves as a means for locking the closure in place, as will hereinafter be more fully described. The member 2| is secured to the top of the closure I8 preferably at the central part thereof only and the laterally extending ends 2Ia thereof are left unsecured to the closure and are bent slightly upwardly away from the closure to provide a certain amount of spring action. Welded also only to the central part of the closure cap I8 as indicated by the reference character 30, is a pivot pin 3|. Pivotally mounted on the projecting ends of the pivot pin 3I are a pair of downwardly extending cars 32 located at the forward ends of and formed integrally with a cam operating lever 33. Each of the cars 32 at its lower end is provided with an inwardly projecting flange 32a shaped to provide a pair of cam track sections 34, 35, shown most clearly in Figs. 1, 4 and 5. These cam track sections 34, are adapted to engage under a pair of cam reaction lugs 36 preferably formed integral with, and projecting downwardly from, the under side of the lateral flange I6 formed on the top of the spout I2. The downwardly extending ears 32 are formed at the end of a pair of leg portions 33a of the member 33 and the lever 33 at the inward ends of the legs 33a is turned downwardly and inwardly to provide a rounded surface as indicated by the reference character 40, the lever rearwardly of this point having a wide web portion 33b.

At its rearward end the lever 33 has a notched out slot 4| to provide clearance space for the central one of the handles I3 of the container, as indicated most clearly in Fig. 2 of the drawings. The wide web portion 33b of the lever 33 is provided with an aperture through which a locking bolt #2 may pass to engage with the screw threaded hole 28 in the nut 21 to hold the closure securely in its locked position. A breather pipe is provided to permit ingress of air to facilitate emptying the container. This breather pipe may be located within the spout B2, or exteriorly of it. As shown in Figs. 1 and d 3, the breather pipe is indicated as being located exteriorly of the pouring spout and is preferably of elongated construction to provide greater area for ingress of atmospheric air to the interior of the container. When the breather pipe is located exteriorly instead of interiorly of the spout. the closure -I8 is provided with a lateral rearward extension I8a, as shown in Fig. 2, so that the closure serves to seal the breather pipe as well as the spout of the container when it is in closed position. The spout I2 is also preferably provided with a pouring lip portion such as indicated at I2a.

The manner in which the device operates is as follows: The cam surface 34 provided on the ears 32 .of the locking lever 33 is an arcuate face struck from a center such as the point P, Fig. 3, eccentric or offset to one side of the center of the pivot pin 3|, while the cam surface 35 is struck from a center such as 0 also offset from the center of the pivot pin 3I but on the other side thereof. As a result of this construction when the lever is swung upwardly from its closed towards its open position, the center P for the cam surface 34 moves downwardly and consequently the surface 34 is lowered below the face of the cam reaction lugs 36 as indicated in Fig. 4. Assuming that the closure I8 has been fully opened to a position such as shown in Fig. 6 and that it is desired to close the same, the lever 33 is first pushed forwardly and downwardly towards the front-0f the cam to cause the closure It to swing about its pivot pin 23. After the closure can It has engaged with the top face of the spout, the lever 33 is then swung rearwardly and downwardly in a counterclockwise direction to bring the cam surfaces 34 under the cam reaction lugs 36'. During this movement of the lever the point P and cam surfaces 34 graduall y moveupwardly'to force the closure i8 tightly into engagement with the sealing edge 36 0f the spout. The mechanical advantage resulting from the length of the lever arm provided by the lever 33 as it swings around the center of the pivot pin 3 I, enables the closure to be clamped tightly in sealing position without requiring the exertion of undue force by' the operator. When the lever 33 has been rotated sufficiently tobring the cam surfaces 35 into engagement with the reaction lugs 36, what may be termed the wed'ging action between the cam surfaces 34 and the reaction lugs- 36 has resulted in stressing the pivot pin 3! and moving" the same from the dotted line position shown in Fig. 3 to the full line position thus stressingthe pivot pin and also stressing the tabs 21a of the T-shaped metal plate 2i. As- :a

the cam surfaces 35, however, are struck from the center 0 which is moving substantiall horizontally when the points of contact between the reaction lugs 36 are moving from the cam surfaces 34 to the surfaces 35 and as the center 0 has moved to a position such. as indicated in Fig. 4 when the lever 33 engages with the top of the nut 2'! as a'stop the spring pressure exerted by the pivot pin 31 andthe ends 2 la of the plate 2! has a component such as to hold the lever 33 in locked position or in other words to force the lever more tightly into engagement with the stop provided by the bolt 21. Therefore, there will be no tendency for the locking lever 33 to move towards unlocked position after the cam surfaces 35 have been engaged under the reaction lugs 36. In order, however, to guard against any accidental unlocking of the closure when the containers are being" transported, the locking bolt 42 is provided.

The arrangement and relative positioning of the partsv as will be noted from Fig. 1 are such that the engagement of the under faceofj the lever 33 with thetop face of the bracket 26 acts as. a stop to limit the counterclockwise motion of the looking lever after the cam surfaces 35 have passed well under the reaction lugs 35. When the lock ing lever 33"is swung from the locked position. shown in Fig. 1 towards unlocked position, and is rotated far enough to fully disengage th cam surfaces 34 from the reaction lugs 36, the closure cap l3 may then be rotated rearwardl'y and upwardly about the pivot pin 23 to fully uncover the pouring spout. The locking lever then serves as a convenient handle to lift the container and to guide and hold the pouring spout in proper position over the opening ofthe gas tank or other device into which the fluid contents of the container are to be poured; this operation beingclearly illustrated in the showing of Fig. 6 of the drawings, the curved head 40 provided on the inner end of the web 33b of the locking lever providing a comfortable hand grip during this operation, while the edges 330 of the lever contact with the top face of the plate 2! and serve as stops to limit the movement of the lever 33 towards the closure lilythusto insure ample' clearance for the operator's hand and to prevent the operators hand from being squeezed between thelever 33 and the closure l3".

III

As. will be seen from the foregoing, the operabe accomplished by but a single movement of the operator's hand, all that is required being to raise the rear end of the lever 33' to. disengage the cam surfaces 35, 34 from under the reaction lugs 36 and by continuing the upward movement the closure I 8 is raised to the fully opened position. The operator then merely has to continue to pull up on the lever 33 to raise the container and then. to place his other hand under the bottom of the container to tilt the same to empty its contents into the desired receptacle. Under actual operating conditions it has been found that a five gallon container provided with the locking means. and closure of the present invention can be unlocked and its contents emptied in but a fractional part of the time required for similar size containers as heretofore commonly employed.

It will also be noted that, as heretofore pointed out, the pin 3! which serves as a pivotal mounting to connect the locking lever 33 to the closure cap l8 also serves in combination with the ends 210; of the plate 2| to provide spring tension means to hold the cap l8v securely clamped in position after it has been locked. The securing of the pivot pin 3! to the center of the closure cap and the similar securing of the center of the hinge plate 2! to the center of said cap and likewise to the center of the pivot pin and the upwardly bowing of; the ends am of the hinge plate 21 and the securing of 'them to the upwardly bowed free ends of the pivot pin causes the pivot pin and hinge plate to act as a composite spring structure which exerts a strong resilient pressure over a relatively wide area of ;be raised off of its seat whenever .the pressure within the container mounts to a point such as would tend to burst the container, the closure cap being forced upwardly a slight amount-to vent the container and permit the escape of gases, but the arrangement of the curved cam surfaces being such as to prevent complete unlocking of the container and forcing the cap downwardly again to closed tightly sealed position as sOOn as pressure within the container is relieved.

It will also be seen that a closure constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention presents marked advantages from the standpoint of providing an extremely rugged structure, well adapted to withstand the rough usage to which devices of this character are subjected in military field operations; that it is readily adapted to mass production methods of manufacture and is so designed as to be capable of almost instantaneous operation and manipulation.

It may further be stated that the present in vention has been developed for use by the United States Army as the most successful device of this character yet designed, but while it is particularly adapted to military use, and has been designed especially for military purposes, it will, of course, be apparent that it has equal marked utility for commercial uses.

It will likewise be understood that while a pref-,

erable. and highly successful embodiment of the invention has been disclosed herein, many changes, variations and modifications may be resorted to without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the claims hereunto appended.

I claim:

1. The combination with a portable container having a pouring spout of a closure cap pivotally connected thereto, a locking lever pivotally connected to said closure cap and movable from an unlocked position substantially at right angles to said cap and to a locked position against said cap and in parallelism therewith, said locking lever and pouring spout being provided one with cam reaction lugs and the other with a plurality of arcuate cam surfaces curved in the same direction and connected by a reversely curved surface, one of said cam surfaces cooperating with said reaction lugs to exert a gradual wedging ac- :3

tion to force said closure cap in tight sealing engagement with said spout as said locking lever is moved towards locked position, a stop for engagement by said lever when it is in locked position and said closure is sealed and the other of said cam surfaces operating to hold said lever against said stop after said cap has been moved into sealing engagement.

2. The combination with a portable container having a pouring spout of a closure cap, a permanent hinge pin connection between said cap and spout, a pivot pin having its central part rigidly secured substantially to the center of said closure cap and the ends of said pivot pin being bowed away from said closure cap in spaced relation thereto, a locking lever pivotally mounted on the free ends of said pivot pin and said spout and lever being provided with cam means adapted when said lever is moved towards locked position, to flex said pin and cause it to hold said closure in tight sealing engagement with said spout.

3. The combination with a portable container having a pouring spout of a closure cap, a permanent hinge pin connection between said cap and spout, a pivot pin having its central part rigidly secured substantially to the center of said closure cap ,and the ends of said pivot pin being bowed away from said closure cap in spaced relation thereto, a locking lever pivotally mounted on the free ends of said pivot pin, a sheet metal hinge plate interposed between said pivot pin and closure cap and having free ends normally spaced from said closure cap and also having its central part secured substantially to the center of said cap, cooperating cam means on said locking lever and pouring spout adapted when said locking lever is moved towards closed position to flex said pivot pin and the free ends of said hinge plate to cause the same to hold said closure cap with a tight resilient pressure in sealing contact with said spout.

v 4. The combination with a portable container having a pouring spout of a closure cap and permanent hinge means for pivotally securing the same-adjacent one edge of said spout, means for swinging said cap upon said hinge means to open and closed positions comprising a locking lever and a bowed spring pivot pin for securing the same substantially to the upper surface of said cap at the center of said cap said pivot pin having its ends bowed upwardly away from the upper surface of said cap to provide spring pivots for said locking lever and said spout and locking lever being provided one with a plurality of reaction means cooperating with said cam surfaces to force said cap in tight sealing engagement with said spout as said locking lever is moved to closed position, and to hold said lever securely in said closed position.

5. The combination with a portable container having a pouring spout of a closure cap and permanent hinge means for pivotally securing the same adjacent one edge of said spout, means for swinging said cap upon said pivoted means to open and closed positions comprising a locking lever, a bowed spring pivot pin upon which said locking lever is pivotally mounted having its center secured to the upper surface of said cap at the center of said closure cap said pivot pin having its ends bowed upwardly away from the upper surface of said cap to provide spring pivots for said locking lever and said spout and locking lever being provided one with cam reaction means and the other with a plurality of arcuate cam surfaces to engage with said reaction means and to force said closure into tight sealing engagement with said spout and simultaneously to flex said pivot pin to cause the same to hold said cap in tight sealing engagement with a resilient pressure.

6. The combination with a portable container having a pouring spout of a closure cap and means for pivotally securing the same adjacent one edge of said spout, means for swinging said cap upon said pivoted means to open and closed positions comprising a locking lever, a bowed spring pivot pin for securing one end of said looking lever substantially to the upper surface of said cap at the center of said closure cap said pivot pin having its ends bowed upwardly away from the upper surface of said cap to provide spring pivots for said locking lever and said spout and locking lever being provided one with cam reaction means and the other with a plurality of arcuate cam surfaces to engage with said reaction means, certain of said cam surfaces being struck from a center of curvature offset to one side of the axis of said pivot pin, to exert a wedging action on said closure cap when said locking lever is moved towards locked position and certain other of said cam surfaces having their center of curvature offset to the other side of the axis of said pivot pin to hold said cap closed when said lever is moved to locked position.

7. The combination with a portable container having a pouring spout of a closure cap and pivotal means adjacent one edge of said spout for pivotally securing said cap for movement towards and from opened and closed position with respect to said spout, a spring bowed pivot pin secured substantially to the upper surface of said cap at the center of said closure cap said pivot pin having its ends bowed upwardly away from the upper surface of said cap to provide spring pivots for said locking lever and a locking lever pivotally mounted upon said pivot pin, said spout and locking member being provided with cooperating cam means for holding said closure cap in tightly v sealed engagement with said spout when said arcuate cam surfaces and the other with a curved 75 looking lever is moved towards locked position and means for holding said locking lever when in closed position against accidental movement towards unlocked position.

8. The combination with a portable container having a pouring spout and a plurality of carrying handles rigidly secured thereto and projecting beyond said pouring spout, a closure cap, permanent hinge means adjacent one edge of said spout for pivotally connecting said cap for movement to and from opened and closed positions, a bowed spring pivot pin secured to said cap substantially centrally thereof a locking lever mounted upon said pin and movable to and from an unlocked position substantially at a right angle to said cap from and to a locked position in contact with and parallel to the top of said cap and said spout and locking lever being provided with cooperating cam means for holding said closure cap with a resilient pressure in tightly sealed engagement with said spout when said locking lever is moved to locked position and said handles projecting beyond said lever when it is in locked position and serving as uards therefor to prevent said lever from being accidentally knocked to unlocked position during transportation of said container.

9. The combination with a portable container having a pouring spout, ofa closure cap, pivotal means located adjacent one edge of said spout to secure said cap permanently to said container for movement towards and from opened and closed positions with respect to said spout, a pivot pin secured substantially to the upper surface of said cap at the center of said cap andits ends free and spaced upwardly from said cap and a locking lever pivotally mounted upon said pin, said spout and lover being provided with cooperating cam means for holding said cap in tight sealing engagement with said closure and said locking lever being provided with a hand grip for lifting said container when said lever is in unlocked position and for permitting said container to be rotated about said pivotal means to empty the contents thereof.

10. In a portable container having a pouring spout and a closure cap therefor, a permanent hinge connection for securing said closure cap at one side of said pouring spout, a pivot pin having its center permanently secured to the top of said closure cap substantially at the center thereof and having its outer ends free and bowed upwardly from the top of said cap, a combined looking lever and hand gIip pivotally mounted upon the free ends of said pivot pin, a pair of reaction lugs permanently secured to said pouring spout and projecting downwardly therefrom immediately below the position of said pivot pin when said cap is in closed position upon the top ofsaid spout, said locking lever having an open bail shaped portion adapted to serve as a handle for moving said closure cap upon said hinge to. and from open and closed positions and a pairof downwardly depending side webs extending substantially at a. right angle to said bail portion and having curved cam surfaces formed thereon for engagement with said reaction lugs spaced literally from the center of said pivot pin and being curved upon arcs offset from said center whereby when said locking lever is moved towards closed position said cam surfaces will exert a gradual wedging action to force said closure cap tightly into contact with said spout and which fleXes the free ends of said pivot pin to hold said closure cap with a resilient yielding pressure against said spout.

11. A container as set forth in claim 10 in which the center of the bail portion of said lever engages with the top of said cap to act as a stop when said lever and cap are moved to their closed positions and said cam surfaces are formed to exert a turning moment upon said locking lever tending to urge it farther towards closed position when said cap is locked and to hold said locking lever tightly against said cap.

12. A container as set forth in claim 10 in which the container is provided with carrying handles rigidly secured to the body of said container and spaced in relationship thereto and projecting outwardly above said pouring spout and in which said locking lever, when moved to closed position, is seated between and below said rigid carrying handles whereby said handles form guards for said locking lever which prevent accidental unlocking of said lever and movement thereof to unlocked position.

13. A container as set forth in claim 10 in which a hinge plate permanently secured to said closure cap is provided with a lateral extension to form a part of the permanent hinge connection from said cap to said spout and said hinge plate is also formed with an inner end portion extending diametrally across said cap and with a web portion interposed between the top thereof and said pivot pin, said Web portion being permanently secured at the center thereof substantially to the center of said pivot pin and to said cap and having its outer end portions bowed upwardly and permanently secured to the bowed upper ends of said pivot pin but unsecured to said cap, whereby said hinge plate forms with said pivot pin a composite spring structure adapted to exert a yielding resilient pressure upon a relatively wide surface area of said cap to hold the same in tightly sealed engagement with said spout when said locking lever is moved to closed position.

ALFRED W. GARDES. 

